Title Raise your children through prayer
Contents
Hymn: 305 "Spring Wind Blows in All Seasons"
Meditation: Have you ever deviated from the word that God-given precious children are just precious?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: Elkanah returned to his house in Ramah, and the child served the Lord before Eli the priest. The sons of Eli were rogues, and they did not know the Lord (1 Samuel 2:11-12).
Word: Eli was a priest. He lived in the temple and served as a priest. But he was a failure in raising children. The Bible calls his children delinquents (verse 12). Why were they bad guys? They despised the worship of God (v. 17). They have fallen morally (verses 22-23). They did not fear Jehovah, and they lived a life close to unbelievers, having nothing to do with God. This is truly unfortunate. So how should we teach our children?
We must raise them as children who love God. The failure of Eli's family is because they did not teach their children to love God. On the other hand, look at Samuel's parents. Samuel's mother, Hannah, had a child through prayer and offered the child to God. Why did you dedicate it? Because of our promises to God. Because Hannah loved God above all else, she kept her promise to God. It is the faith of these great parents that gave birth to Samuel, a man of great faith. We must plant the love of God in the hearts of our children.
We must nurture them through non-stop prayer. Samuel's birth was due to the prayers of his parents (1 Samuel 1:20). And even after having a son, he did not forget to pray to God. But Eli did not live a life of prayer. When Eli saw Hannah praying, she thought she was a drunken woman, and even advised her to stop drinking wine. Eli did not have the spirituality of deep prayer. This is why Eli's sons became delinquents.
The Bible contrasts sharply why Hannah's son Samuel was used beautifully before God and Eli's sons became delinquents. That is the difference between praying parents and non-prayer parents.
You must do your best to nurture them. Ellie did her best not to discourage or revuke her children when they derailed. But Samuel's parents were devoted to their children and did their best. We must be Samuel's parents, not Eli.
Prayer: God, help me to live a life of prayer according to your will and become parents who have a beautiful influence of faith on my children. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord's Prayer